Thursday, December 9, 2010

The Politics of the Vikings

Voters in Minnesota would rather lose the Vikings to California than have a tax increase to help build the team a new stadium. They're perfectly fine though with helping to fund a new facility through expanded gaming operations in the state.

It's not new news that voters in Minnesota don't want to pay to build the team a new stadium. 61% of voters in the state are opposed to doing so with only 28% in favor and 11% unsure. Even if you raise the stakes and ask voters whether they'd be willing to lose the team to avoid paying to build a new stadium support for a publicly funded facility rises to only 35% with 49% saying they'd rather the team moved out west and 16% unsure.

Usually on issues related to taxation we see huge partisan divides but that is not the case when it comes to paying for a new stadium. 62% of Republicans, 61% of Democrats, and 59% of independents are opposed to a publicly funded stadium. This issue may come down more to how much people care about football than it does their usual political ideologies.

Although voters don't want to pay for a stadium themselves they are open to the idea of expanding gambling in the state and having that revenue help fund a new stadium. 62% of voters in the state support increased gaming operations to keep the Vikings in the state to only 25% who are opposed. This is another issue where the usual partisan lines are blurred. Generally Democrats are more sympathetic to gambling interests than Republicans but when it comes to using the money on the Vikings there is support from 63% of Republicans, 63% of independents, and 61% of Democrats.

As elected officials deal with the Vikings stadium issue the political realities are that a) voters want to keep the team, b) voters themselves don't want to pay to keep the team so c) the powers that be need to come up with revenue streams for a new stadium that have a minimal effect on the average voter.